Unpopular Opinions Thread

[MarqHusker]

Red fescue is better than Kentucky blue grass in the Midwest for your lawn.

[Cincydawg]

Red fescue is better than Kentucky blue grass in the Midwest for your lawn.

I think I used a blend, but the KBG needed watering a lot.

We walked to dinner last night and got rained on a bit, had to stop and docu under at one point.  I had forgotten how much rain we get around here.  Cincy would start looking brown and barren about now usually, here everything is dark green.

[betarhoalphadelta]

Maybe not an unpopular opinion, but certainly very unpopular with my peers.

The United States should adopt a universal health care system, similar to most Western European countries, and end healthcare as a perk of your job.

Caveat:  I’m hugely against government deficit spending. I’m also hugely against more taxes, unless those taxes offset the costs we pay now.

Swiss model. 

[Gigem]

Swiss model.

Explain? 

[betarhoalphadelta]

Explain?

Sorry, it was a link to the Wikipedia article on the Swiss healthcare model, which I think is a far superior model (and far more amenable to Americans) than a typical government-run (i.e. British NIH) or a single-payer (i.e. most of Europe) model. 

To an extent, it's similar to what would happen if you got ride of employer-sponsored insurance, got rid of Medicare, and all you had left was a tightly-regulated but private individual insurance market. They have an individual mandate so everyone actually has insurance, and subsidies so nobody pays more than 8% of their income on health insurance. 

The insurance that they mandate is not some gold-plated "we'll take care of everything" insurance, so a lot of people have a secondary insurance for that aspect. And that secondary insurance is less regulated. To an extent I *think* that is an incentive for insurers to perform well, because they're trying to attract customers for secondary insurance. Since the primary market is barred from profit-making, the secondary market is [obviously] more lucrative for the insurers. 

[utee94]

Yeah that model would definitely be more palatable to many Americans.

[Gigem]

I didn’t see the link to Wikipedia on your post. I didn’t know the Swiss followed that model. 

[MrNubbz]

One point that can't be debated "SEINFELD" SUCKED and while we're at it "FRIENDS"was the worst

[OrangeAfroMan]

Yeah, Seinfeld was the worst!  Making the colorful friends the actual focus and the boring comedian just kind of the hub.  Some of the greatest side characters of all time (J.Peterman, Puddy, Soup Nazi, etc) and endless quotes. 
Larry David was the master of bringing things back around, full circle.  Both on Seinfeld and Curb.
Terrible.

[Cincydawg]

Perhaps the main reason we don't have government health care is income taxes.  Back in the day, the marginal rates got so high on high income that companies sought ways to compensate high level employees without taxable income.  The IRS ruled health insurance was not taxable income.  So, company paid HI became the norm for larger companies.  It was a very large nontaxable benefit, and the companies could write it off as an expense (so yje Feds basically pay for part of it).

[MrNubbz]

Yeah, Seinfeld was the worst!  Making the colorful friends the actual focus and the boring comedian just kind of the hub.  Some of the greatest side characters of all time (J.Peterman, Puddy, Soup Nazi, etc) and endless quotes.

There were a few episodes that were good and the soup nazi was indeed one of them "don't push your luck little man". One show about going to a funeral and had to take a flight out of town and going to the after funeral gathering/dinner and a ruckus breaks out because someone double dipped - using the other side of the same chip. That waspretty good.

 I liked Home Improvement,Becker,That '70s Show and Two and a Half Men. Prolly toss Monk in there also

[MarqHusker]

Yes, tethering HC Benefits to our employment was a direct result of the Stabilization Act in the early 40s.  Efforts to fight inflation and encourage women and others into the workforce.

[FearlessF]

And it was popular 

[Cincydawg]

Sure, employees get a nice benefit worth money and pay no taxes on it.  Employers offer said benefit and get a tax write off.  I recall when I was job searching in 1980, I was advised to ask if they provided "free" health insurance.  All the big companies did, and for me, it was free at the time, zero copay, nothing at all.  Delivery of my kids was free except I paid a small amount to get a private room for my then wife.